Rahul Gandhi says unemployment root cause of Gujarat violence

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the root cause of recent violence in Gujarat is unemployment caused by closure of factories and targeting migrant workers is “completely wrong”.

“There is nothing more frightening than poverty. The root cause of the violence in Gujarat is the closed down factories and unemployment there. Both the system and that economy are reeling,” Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

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Taking a strong stand against targeting migrant labours, the Congress president took to Twitter and wrote in Hindi.

“Making migrant labour their target is completely wrong. I stand totally against it”.

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The attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants began following reports of alleged rape of a 14-month-old girl. Fearing for thier lives, around 50,000 migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are said to have left Gujarat, according to reports.

In the wake of the tense situation, 431 people have been arrested and 56 FIRs registered in connection with the attacks on migrant Hindi-speaking labours, official sources said.

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Meanwhile, the state government on Monday appealed for the return of migrant labours. It has also stationed additional security forces in industrial areas in the state, the state government said.